Chase the Sunset Beyond These Seas
by Ellen-Thalia
Summary: What would have happened if Emma had never given Henry up? How would August get her to Storybrooke? And when they did get there, what would Emma make of the sticky fingered, one handed waiter at Granny's? [Eventual Captain Swan]
1. Prologue

_**Hi there,**_

_**It's been a while since I wrote a fanfiction (other than the oneshot I posted a few weeks ago) and I don't have the best track record with updating (sorry existing followers) but this time I'm determined! Hopefully my amazing beta JJ will help keep me on track too.**_

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**Summary: What would have happened if Emma had never given Henry up? How would August get her to Storybrooke? And when they did get there, what would Emma make of the sticky fingered, one handed waiter at Granny's?**

**Title: _'Chase the sunset across these seas'_ (A lyric taken from the song _Proof is Better Than a Promise _by Speaking in Shadows, check them out on youtube!)**

**Beta'd by J-J-Sawyer-Phillips, you should all check out her stories - she's kind of a genius**

**Pairings: Eventual Captain Swan with platonic, friendship/family Wooden Swan and mentions of other canon pairings.**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own Once Upon A Time, or any of the characters. Alas I cannot pay any claim to the utter sexiness that is Killian Jones/Hook/Colin O'Donoghue :(**

**Enjoy!**

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I watched this movie once about a girl who got pregnant at fifteen. Right at the end, after her baby was born she said it was hard to care about somebody more than you care about yourself. I figured it must be true. I mean it's human nature to be selfish; I've spent my whole life just looking out for myself, and the one time I trusted someone else to be there for me like I was there for him... well, that didn't end well. Besides, why else would my parents have left me on the side of a road when I was barely a day old? So, that little life lesson made perfect sense to me.

Until I held my son.

He was - is - the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Even in that moment after he was born when he was screaming with bright red cheeks and still covered in goo. I'd decided, months before he was born, that I'd put him up for adoption. I'd had a meeting with a good adoption agency here in Phoenix, made sure that they had a family lined up so he wouldn't end up in the system. When I made that decision I thought it was the hardest choice I ever made. But even though I'd told myself that I wouldn't even look at him, I couldn't let him go without holding him just once. And when I looked down at his chubby red cheeks and his tiny fingers came up to brush against my chin I rethought every option I'd thought about over the last seven months.

Was adoption really the best idea? It was the logical thing to do. I mean what did I have to offer him? When I got out in a few months time I had no home, no money... nothing but a beaten up yellow bug. At least I assumed that's what the car keys were for... and that was stolen anyway, so surely he'd be better off with someone else. But I was adopted, once it became apparent that I wasn't going to be claimed. Three years later I was dropped into the system so my 'parents' could have their own kid. What if that happened to my baby? Seventeen years later and I was still looking for my parents, still hating them for giving me up. So when this little guy is all grown up and comes looking for me -because he will, all orphans do - how will I look him in the eye when I would have subjected him to the same pain that I grew up with? The moment I laid eyes on my baby boy I knew I couldn't do that to him. I didn't have much to offer, but I could love him with everything I have.

The movie was wrong. For a mother, caring about your baby more than yourself is the easiest thing in the world. And choosing to keep him, not knowing what would happen, just that he would change my life completely - for better or for worse... That was far harder than choosing to give him up.

.

.

.

.

.

A baby? She went into prison heartbroken and alone and came out with a baby? How the hell did I miss that? This has ruined everything. Emma being alone would make her a stronger saviour and when the time came to go to Storybrooke she'd have nothing holding her back. Now what do I do? Should I call Neal? If she's not going to be alone she might as well have a guy who loves her to help with the kid. And he'd want to know, right? Then he could take her to Storybrooke. No, he wouldn't. The guy's spent over a hundred years running from his father-he'd never take them to him.

I need a new plan. Why did I have to run? If I'd just stayed in that home I'd have had years to build trust between us and this wouldn't be an issue! No matter what, Emma has ties now. Nothing screams 'roots' more than a kid. But raising a kid on her own... I can't think of anything stronger than a single mother, at least that part of the plan worked out... It's just the getting her there...

If I can't make it so she has no reason _not_ to go maybe I can make the kid a reason _for_ her to go...

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**In case you're wondering, the movie Emma's referring to is _15 and Pregnant _**

**Reviews are inspiration, encouragement and if they include constructive criticism they also make me a better writer, which makes JJ's life easier too! :)**

**-Ellen.**


	2. Chapter 1

_**Thank you so much for everyone who followed this story and especially Conan in Love, Isabella and the guest who reviewed.**_

_**I forgot to put this on the prologue but the POV is split between Emma and August, I've not marked them up because I think that they are easily distinguished but if you feel they need to be labelled feel free to tell me. **_

_**Thanks to my beta, JJ.**_

* * *

**Title: **_**'Chase the sunset across these seas'**_**(A lyric taken from the song **_**Proof is Better Than a Promise **_**by Speaking in Shadows, check them out on youtube!)**

**Summary: What would have happened if Emma had never given Henry up? How would August get her to Storybrooke? And when they did get there, what would Emma make of the sticky fingered, one handed waiter at Granny's?**

**Beta'd by J-J-Sawyer-Phillips, you should all check out her stories - she's kind of a genius**

**Pairings: Eventual Captain Swan with platonic, friendship/family Wooden Swan and mentions of other canon pairings.**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own Once Upon A Time, or any of the characters. Alas I cannot pay any claim to the utter sexiness that is Killian Jones/Hook/Colin O'Donoghue :(**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

It was tough. I mean the first few weeks must be tough for any new parent, but most aren't coming out of prison so I think I can claim I had it a little worse... But I was also really lucky. I got a good parole officer, she was nice and wanted to help but also didn't take any shit, I could respect that. The best part though was that she had kids young and could somewhat relate. So she placed me in a halfway house with only one other woman and helped me get a job. It was a shitty job at some freeway diner but I couldn't complain; I had Henry to think about, and it was him that got me through every shift. The owner let me keep Henry with me - and made damn sure I knew how much he wasn't happy with it - and I was blessed with the fact that the little guy slept most of the day. So I just had him with me in a baby carrier and made sure not to spill anything. I worked behind the counter so the tips weren't as good but if I was out on the floor I couldn't have Henry with me out there; tips or not there was no way I could afford a babysitter.

The bug was parked in some abandoned parking lot near the prison, I'd gotten a postcard just before I was released with the address on the back. When I realised what it was I gave myself a mental lecture on all the reasons I shouldn't be disappointed that the card gave no indication of where the hell Neal was and how I shouldn't hope that he'd be there to meet me with some reasonable explanation for all this. He'd made the car legit, and I found a wad of cash in the glove box. A part of me wanted to track the bastard down and throw it in his face - a car and some money, that I know he got from fencing those damn watches, didn't make up for what he'd done to me. But I had Henry now and I had to do what was best for him. I needed that money to get everything he needed. Clothes, the baby carrier, diapers - y'know, baby stuff. I splashed out on this sweet Moses basket that had a good mattress and was big enough that he'd still be able to sleep in there when he was at the age that he ought to have a proper crib, because I couldn't guarantee that I'd be able to get him one. Of Course, the other reason for not tracking the asshole down was that he'd inevitably find out about Henry if I did, and there was no way I was letting that bastard anywhere near my son.

I spent as little as I could and hid the rest of my wages and the left over money inside the hollow bed frame (an old trick I'd picked up in group homes over the years - old fashioned beds are good for something even if it's not comfort) along with the keys to the bug. By the time Henry was six months old I'd managed the get some savings together; it wasn't much but I hoped it would be enough for a deposit for an apartment as my parole was nearly up. I couldn't stay in Phoenix though. If Neal knew which prison I was in then it wouldn't take much for him to find me. Not that I thought he was interested in seeing me again but I couldn't take that chance. So I sold the bug, bribed my boss into writing me a glowing reference and got on a greyhound to New York. I didn't want to be found so where better to go than one of the most populated cities in the world?

As it turned out I could have saved myself a hundred bucks because the reference didn't help with the job hunting. Nobody wanted to hire a teenage, ex-con, single mother apparently. If it wasn't for the child benefit I got from the state, Henry and I would have been on the streets. It didn't last long though because Henry was growing so fast, and it was amazing to see him go from the tiny new born that slept against my chest all day to a happy, chubby cheeked, laughing, little boy. But the money couldn't keep up with his growing. I was quickly falling apart when the second month that the rent was late came around.

"Come on sweet cheeks, I'm not running a charity here," the landlord glared.

"I know." I held in a sigh and ran my fingers through my limp, borderline greasy hair, "Look, I get the child support tomorrow and I can pay you then, please just give me a day," I begged, swallowing my pride.

"You said that last month, and I didn't get it for a week." I opened my mouth to point out that the bank's fuck up had hardly been my fault, but before I could get a word out he stepped forward.

"Y'know honey, " he smirked, running his finger down my face, making my stomach churn. "There are other ways you could pay me... You know... you do me a _favour_, and I'll wave the rent this month. What do you say?" When his hand appeared on my hip, it took everything in me not to show him just what I thought of him. With gritted teeth I tightened my grip on the door frame and tried to step further away from him. "I mean, it's not like you have anyone else to take out your _frustrations_ on."

I lost it. Without even thinking that it could put me and Henry on the street I raised my fist, ready to connect it with the perverted old bastard's jaw, only for Henry to suddenly let out a high pitched wail and snap me out of my reddened haze. I glanced over my shoulder to see him trying to climb out of his basket.

"Sorry, I have to get Henry. I'll have your money tomorrow, every penny," I slammed the door in his face, without giving him time to argue and raced over to my son. "Oh Henry," I sighed as I held him to my chest, rocking him in the hope that he'd go back to sleep, "what are we gonna do? How am I gonna get us out of this mess?"

I tried not to think about how Henry was already too big for the Moses basket, because if I had to pay out anything more than the bare minimum then my choices would be the streets or taking the landlord up in his 'offer'.

.

.

It was nearly Henry's birthday and I still hadn't found a proper job. What was worse was that I couldn't stay in that apartment anymore. New neighbours had moved in and now the whole floor stank of pot. I couldn't keep Henry in that environment. I'd started spending as much time out of that place as possible. I couldn't really afford to do anything, but I took Henry on long walks through the park. I tried to look on the bright side, as they say, and thought how pushing him about in the stroller I'd picked up from a second hand store was helping me shift the baby weight at last, but that didn't last for long. I mean, I didn't give a damn about how I looked; it's not like I was trying to impress anyone, and if I was really honest with myself, all the meals I was skipping to save money on the food bill meant I really didn't have a baby belly anymore.

Saturdays were the worst. I figured that whoever the pothead was he must have had some sort of night job because during the week the air cleared a bit in the evenings. Weekends were a different story though. So on Sundays I took Henry to this little coffee shop down the street. The woman who ran it, Rosalie, always made a fuss over Henry and made him these fruit smoothies that he loved. It was quite funny really - I'd take him out of the stroller and let him pick the fruits to go in the blender. The kid came up with some weird combinations (tomato and strawberry, really? I think he just likes the colour red) but he enjoyed them. Sunday was also the day I ate best, because I treated myself to a grilled cheese and a salad at Rosalie's, and then made my cocoa last as long as I could so we could stay in the shop. Usually that would last me until Tuesday night, which meant when the rent came around I could just about cover it.

One Sunday, Henry was being a real pain in the ass. He just wouldn't stop crying, and for no apparent reason. I'd been up all night with him and was completely exhausted. Rosalie, bless her, told me to sit straight down and she'd bring our food over. I turned to head to our usual booth and ran straight in to some guy, dropping my purse and barely managing to keep hold of Henry.

"I am so sorry," I apologised, bending down to grab my stuff.

"It's fine," mystery guy said, and bent down to help. He paused, handing me my driver's license "Wait, Emma Swan?" I looked up, meeting his eyes for the first time. Blue eyes, brown hair, a bit of stubble, a few years older than me, but not too much, kinda hot too (yeah, it's definitely been a while Emma). I didn't recognise him though which straight away put me on guard. "Are you the Emma Swan who was found in Maine back in '83?"

What. The. Hell. Sure the story was on the news and all, but I was just 'baby Emma' my last name was never made public. "Who the hell are you?" I asked harshly, pulling Henry closer to me and trying to hide my fear with hostility.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. I must sound like some sort of stalker," the guy chuckled. _Yeah no kidding buddy._ "It's just... If you're the Emma I think you are, then I was the kid who found you."

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_**So, that's chapter one.**_

_**Reviews are greatly appreciated.**_

_**Thanks to every one for reading. The plan is to update this every Monday, so if I don't you're all welcome to bug me about it.**_

_**-Ellen-Thalia.**_


	3. Chapter 2

_**So sorry that this is so late. I went on holiday and forgot to email this chapter to my phone :/**_

_**Thanks for all the follows/favourites and for the reviews. **_

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**Title: **_**'Chase the sunset across these seas'**_**(A lyric taken from the song **_**Proof is Better Than a Promise **_**by Speaking in Shadows, check them out on youtube!)**

**Summary: What would have happened if Emma had never given Henry up? How would August get her to Storybrooke? And when they did get there, what would Emma make of the sticky fingered, one handed waiter at Granny's?**

**Beta'd by J-J-Sawyer-Phillips, you should all check out her stories - she's kind of a genius**

**Pairings: Eventual Captain Swan with platonic, friendship/family Wooden Swan and mentions of other canon pairings.**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own Once Upon A Time, or any of the characters. Alas I cannot pay any claim to the utter sexiness that is Killian Jones/Hook/Colin O'Donoghue :(**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"What the hell!" I straightened up, clutched Henry closer to my chest and backed up. There was no way in the world that I could just run into that kid; that stuff only happened in movies. No, I couldn't trust this guy.

"Wow, I am so sorry!" creepy stubble guy announced shaking his head. "I kind of have this bad habit of just saying what I think, I don't stop to think about the consequences. Like, y'know, scaring the crap out of a pretty girl who looks like she already has enough on her plate." He chuckled and scratched the back of his neck. "I-I'll just go, leave you to your morning... It was nice bumping into you... sorry if I creeped you out," and he turned on his heel, and started walking towards the door.

I didn't notice that Henry had stopped crying until he started squirming and gargled at Mr. Stubble as he reached for the door handle. "Hey!" I called out before I had time to process what I was doing. "You're seriously going to drop a bombshell like that and walk out?"

He turned around and smiled sheepishly, but I was sure he was pleased too, "You don't want me to leave?" he asked.

"I don't want to spend the rest of the day, and who knows how long after that, wondering if what you said is true. Like you said, I've got enough on my plate," I retorted with a raised eyebrow, tilting my head slightly towards Henry.

The small smile turned into a grin at that point and the stranger shut the door, taking a step toward me. "Can I buy you a coffee?"

"Really?" the other eyebrow rose to meet its mate, "Do you always ask really personal, and dramatic questions right after you meet a girl and then ask them out? Does that actually work for you?"

"We're in a coffee shop," he points out, "and you kind of implied that you wanted to talk." I could feel my cheeks going pink with embarrassment. "I thought getting coffee was the natural progression," he sort of had a point there, "but if you're more comfortable with labels then yeah, we can call it a date. And no, this is not how I'd usually go about asking a girl out."

I considered him for a moment. So far, nothing he'd said had triggered my lie detector but this situation was crazy. "Let's just call it a chat," I decided and offered him a small, suspicious smile before lifting Henry higher on my hip and turning around. "Rosalie? Can we have our usual please?" I called and turned to my son. "Go on baby, pick your fruit," I encouraged, still watching the mystery guy out of the corner of my eye.

"Cute kid," he commented. "He looks like you."

After Rosalie prepared our orders I put Henry down and watched him clumsily toddle over to our usual booth. "So, you got a name?"

"August. August Booth." I studied him as he took a sip of his coffee and began regarding me in return, with much less suspicion though.

"You really expect me to believe that I just randomly bumped into the guy who found me on the side of a road nearly nineteen years ago?"

He shrugged, "I know it's crazy but... I can't explain it. Can you?"

"Yeah," I shot back coolly, "You're not that kid who found me; you're just a con man who found the article and thought I'd make a good mark. Well I hate to break it to you, but you're wasting your time."

"Not very trusting are you?" he asked with a kind of impressed amusement.

"Trust is earned. Anyone who thinks differently is living in a fairytale. And my life is _not_ fairytale material."

"No," August replied wistfully, "I don't imagine it has been." He just looked at me for a moment, with what looked like a little bit of guilt in his eyes, before leaning forward and lacing his fingers together under his chin. "The article said you were found by the road, they just assumed that, I don't know why. In actual fact I found you in the woods. You were wrapped in a blanket, it was a sort of off white colour with a purple ribbon woven into the knit and it had the name Emma embroidered in the corner. It's been awhile since I read the article but I'm pretty sure that wasn't in there."

He was right—it wasn't, and I still hadn't detected any lies. "How did you know my second name? I didn't get that until I was adopted. So how could you know?" I asked, still sceptical.

"When I found you," he swallowed, looking guilty again, "I promised you I'd look after you. I lasted seven months, around about." I cocked my head in confusion. "We were placed in the same foster home, but about seven months later the guy yelled at me for using some tools. I was trying to fix your crib," he explained. "Right after that one of the older kids came and said he'd found some money and that he was taking off, offered to take me with him and some other kids. I accepted.

"Obviously the system caught up to us eventually, but we were all split up. A couple of years later, I met a guy who was a genius with computers. I got him to look you up, I wanted to know you were ok," he shrugged. "You were in a home in Boston then. That's how I know your name."

After making a show of my scepticism, I nodded, albeit reluctantly. "Fine but why did you ask if I was that Emma when you saw my name? I'm sure there's a lot of Emma Swans in the world. Why would you assume that by some crazy coincidence we had crossed paths again?"

August cocked his head in response a smile barely tugging at his lips (come_ on_ my trust issues could not be that amusing) "Remember five minutes ago when I went to walk out of here, and you said that if I did you'd spend the rest of the day wondering? Well seeing as when I picked up that drivers license, I saw you had both the same name and year of birth as that little baby I've wondered about many times over the years- Don't look at me like that!" he cut himself off when he saw my disbelieving expression. "If you ever found a baby in the woods I'm sure you'd wonder about them too. I'm not saying I thought about you every day, but you've crossed my mind from time to time."

"Am I supposed to be flattered?" I tried to keep up my distrustful, no-nonsense approach but by this point we were both on the verge of laughter.

"Oh, I get the impression that it'll take a lot more than that to flatter you Emma," he replied, finally letting a laugh out as I did the same.

"Good observation," I agreed.

"Oh," his face lit up with mock surprise, "was that a compliment? My, my I think we're

making progress."

I smirked and raised my cocoa to my lips, "Just an observation."

"Of course, we can't have me thinking that you might actually be enjoying our little 'chat' can we?" he quipped, matching my smirk.

I'd never have admitted it but I was actually growing to like this guy, which was ridiculous because I'd just met him and he knew things about my past which I generally didn't tell anybody. Not to mention the fact that the last guy I got on with so fast landed me in jail. No, liking this guy in any way shape or form was a bad idea, but as far as I could tell he'd been nothing but truthful, and I don't remember ever having such an easy conversation with anyone, not even Neal.

"Anyway, what I was getting at is that if I had walked away and not asked you if you were that baby all grown up... I don't know how long I would have been wondering." He then glanced at his watch and downed the rest of his coffee. "I'm sorry Emma, but I have to go. I've got this meeting this afternoon and I should probably prepare for it."

"Sure, ok well thanks I guess for the... chat?" I trailed off not really knowing what to say. I mean how do you end a conversation with the grown up kid who found you on the side of the road - or in the woods - when you were a baby after you randomly ran into them?

"No, thank you." August reached into his jacket and pulled out a pen and a note pad. "Look, I know that I'm a little late to make good on my promise, and you're all grown up and probably don't need looking after anyway, but," he shrugged and scribbled something on the pad, "everyone could use friends. So, if you're interested, give me a call? No expectations." He tore the sheet off the pad and handed it to me before standing up and going to the counter to pay Rosalie. I looked down to see his name and a cell phone number on the paper. "It was really good to meet you Emma. And you Henry." He smiled from the door way. "Bye."

I looked back down at the paper. My head was telling me to just throw it away, but something made me slip it into my purse instead.

.

.

.

.

I got on my bike and left Emma and the kid. The ball was in her court now. I just hoped that I'd managed to gain just enough trust, or at the very least spike some curiosity, so that she'd actually call. Somehow I doubted that she'd buy a second 'coincidental' meeting and if I couldn't become her friend I'd have no chance of getting her to Storybrooke.


	4. Chapter 3

**Title: **_**'Chase the sunset across these seas'**_**(A lyric taken from the song **_**Proof is Better Than a Promise **_**by Speaking in Shadows, check them out on youtube!)**

**Summary: What would have happened if Emma had never given Henry up? How would August get her to Storybrooke? And when they did get there, what would Emma make of the sticky fingered, one handed waiter at Granny's?**

**Beta'd by J-J-Sawyer-Phillips, you should all check out her stories - she's kind of a genius**

**Pairings: Eventual Captain Swan with platonic, friendship/family Wooden Swan and mentions of other canon pairings.**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own Once Upon A Time, or any of the characters. Alas I cannot pay any claim to the utter sexiness that is Killian Jones/Hook/Colin O'Donoghue :(**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

It had been three weeks since Emma and I had 'met' and she still hadn't called. What's worse is that since she knew my face, I couldn't keep an eye on her the way I had been before, in case she saw me. How was I supposed to keep her on track and help her fulfil her destiny if she wouldn't let me in? I mean come on, she's a barely more than a kid, with no job and a baby to look after. I was sure she would at least be desperate enough to ignore her trust issues.

I'd decided to go back to the coffee shop; I was sure to go back a few times in the week when I knew Emma wouldn't be there so the woman behind the counter could reassure her that I wasn't stalking her - it couldn't be such a stretch to believe I just liked the coffee. However, when I did go on a Sunday, right in the middle of the time Emma was usually there, she was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey," I asked the old woman, who seemed to run the place, trying to sound casually curious. "Do you remember a few weeks back when I first came in here? I spoke to a blond girl with a baby."

"Yes, of course. Emma's quite lovely isn't she? She and that poor boy need a good man in their lives," she prompted. _Great, _I thought, _she's a match maker._

I played a long though and scratched my neck, trying to appear nervous. "So she, eh, comes here often then?"

"Yes, every Sunday. Y'know she's usually here by now. I do hope they're ok," she seemed to ponder. So no information there. I took my coffee to go and walked through the park to see if she was there. No luck. At this point I was starting to worry. She'd been in New York for about six months—it didn't take her long to find the coffee shop and since then she'd been there the same time every week without fail. If the staff didn't know why she wasn't there then there had to be something wrong. But how could I help her? She hadn't given me her number, she hadn't called; sure I knew where she lived but I wasn't supposed to. If I just showed up there then she'd be sure I was some stalker or a con artist or both and wouldn't accept help whether she needed it or not.

What the hell was I supposed to do?

.

.

.

.

"Henry!" I cried, with a mixture of exhaustion and fear. He'd been crying all night and I didn't know what to do.

His diaper was clean, he wouldn't eat, he didn't have gas... I kept telling myself that babies cry for no reason sometimes. That there was nothing to worry about but there was this pit in my stomach... Like a coil winding tighter and tighter with every high pitch cry coming from my baby's mouth. I put him down in his chair, but he just kept screaming. I felt like if it wasn't for the worry I would have collapsed from exhaustion hours ago.

After a particularly high wail, I took a deep breath and knelt down in front of him. "Henry," I tried to make my voice sound more soothing than whining. "Baby please, just tell Mommy what's wrong. What can I do?" I rested my hands on his chubby little legs but he just squirmed and continued to stare into the distance. "Henry?" I asked seriously, the coil tightening even more. "Henry, look at Mommy." Never, not once, had Henry not reacted to my voice or touch. Not while he was awake. Not once since I had him. A look, a gargle, a smile, a cry... there was always something! "Henry! Henry look at mommy! Henry look at me!" I was scared now. I knew it in my gut. Something was _wrong! _"Henry!" I was out right crying as I cupped his face in my hand and he suddenly felt warmer than before. I didn't know if I was imagining it or if it was me worrying but I wasn't taking chances anymore.

I knew, in that pit in my stomach - hell in the pain in my _heart - _I knew there was something wrong with my son.

I grabbed my cell phone and the car seat and started to dial a taxi but as Henry's cries just got louder and higher and his normally pale skin was turning blotchy I hung up and called 911 instead.

_ "911 what is your emergency?"_

"I need help! I-It's my baby I need an ambulance!" I stuttered through my tears, barely understanding myself.

_ "Ok Miss I need you to stay calm for me. What's your address?"_ I rattled off the address, trying to stop my tears and remove the hysteria from my voice. _"Ok honey, is that the baby I can hear crying? How old?"_

"Y-yes, he's twelve and a half months. Is the ambulance on the way?"

_ "They're on their way, honey but I need to give them as much information as I can before they get there so they can help the baby. So you need to answer my questions as best you can ok?"_

I nodded, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand, before realising that the woman couldn't see me. "Ye-es, yes what do you need to know?"

_ "What symptoms does he have? Why did you call us?"_

"H-he won't stop crying, he doesn't usually cry like this and his skin is all blotchy and he has a fever and won't eat and he won't look at me." My voice break on a sob. "He always looks at me when I talk to him."

_ "Ok, just try to stay calm. What are your names?"_

"Emma and Henry Swan."

_ "Ok, Emma. You said he wasn't looking at you, is Henry looking at anything or is he just staring?"_

"Just staring."

_ "And does Henry have a rash or any bruising anywhere?"_

"N-no, I haven't se- I don't think so -" it was then that realisation dawned on me. "Oh my God you think it's meningitis! No!" I started hyperventilating, staring at my baby boy with complete and utter terror.

_ "Emma,"_ the operator's voice became stern, like a reprimanding mother. _"Emma I need you to calm down. It might not be meningitis but if it is you have to act fast. So I need you to stay calm and help us help Henry. Can you do that for him?"_

"Y-yes," I whispered, nodding once more, and took a deep breath to replace my panic with the deadly kind of calm.

_ "The ambulance is nearly there. I need you to go and open the front door for them. Then go straight back to Henry and check his whole body for a rash or any type of bruising." _I'd opened the door and started undressing Henry to check before she'd even finished speaking.

"I can't see anything... there's some diaper rash that's almost cleared up but nothing new or unusual." I told her. "That's good right?"

_ "Yes that's a good sign, but we won't know for sure what's going on until we get Henry checked out."_ I heard hurried footsteps from the corridor then and whipped my head towards the door.

"I think the ambulance is here."

_ "Ok, stay on the phone and stay with Henry. Just call to them from where you are."_

"Hello? Hello I need some hel-" a man dressed in a dark uniform walked through the door and jogged over to me and Henry carrying a large bag with someone else following him.

"Emma Swan?" he asked as he knelt next to me. I nodded as he took a stethoscope from the bag. "And this must be Henry, hello little guy." He said over the crying and I got the impression that it was more for my benefit than Henry's.

The paramedic's murmured to each other. Once they got there everything was kind of a blur. The guy did all sorts of checks with Henry while the woman asked me questions but I barely heard her. My eyes fixed on my son, hoping that they could do something to make my baby stop crying but at the same time praying he wouldn't because at least if he was crying I knew he was breathing. They took us down to the ambulance and the guy stayed in the back with me and Henry while the woman drove.

At the hospital a group of doctor swarmed around my baby while I stood helplessly in the corner. It could have been seconds or hours later when a nurse came over to me. Everything was moving in slow motion. She tried to lead me out of the room and I suddenly snapped to life, fighting to get to Henry, but more nurses appeared as if from nowhere and held me back.

"No! Let me go That's my son! My baby's in there! Let me go! He needs me! Let me go let me GO!" I screamed, sobs over taking my body. People where probably staring, but I couldn't care less. All I wanted was my son. I wanted to hold him in my arms and have him be happy and healthy and smiling up at me. I wanted to wake up on my mattress with Henry happily gurgling at me, from across the room, and have all this be a terrible nightmare.

But we don't always get what we want.

A male nurse took me by the shoulders and led me to a chair in the waiting room with a plump older nurse at his side. She sat next to me and angled her chair towards me. She waved the man away but I saw him hover nearby, just in case I needed restraining I guessed.

"Now, Ms. Swan," the older Nurse started in a tone that was somehow firm but soothing at the same time, "I assure you that the doctors and nurses with Henry will take good care of him and do everything they can to find out what's wrong with him and treat him, ok? The best thing you can do for Henry, right now, is stay calm and answer my question the best you can. Do you understand?"

I nodded, tearing my eyes away from the room Henry was in. "Yes. What do you need to know?" She asked me questions about mine and Henry's medical history and what health problems might be in the family. At the forth 'I don't know' she lowered the clip board and glared at me with her lips in a tight line.

"Ms. Swan. I am asking you these questions to help _your son,_" she snapped. "If you care about him you'll do well to take them seriously."

"How dare you!" I shouted, not caring who heard. "How dare you say that I don't care about my son! My baby!" Out of the corner of my eye I saw the male nurse edging closer to me. "My son is my whole world and there is _nothing_ I wouldn't do to help him!" From the look on the nurses face I'm sure that, despite my youth, the bags under my eyes and the dried tears on my cheeks, my expression was murderous. "I can't answer your questions because I'm an orphan! I never knew my parents, I don't know if they had health problems, Henry and I never have. Henry's father isn't in the picture. I don't know anything about his medical history so take your fucking clipboard, get it out of my face and find out _what the HELL is wrong with MY SON!_"

The Nurse swallowed and at least had the decency to look ashamed. "I am very sorry Ms. Swan. I was out of line." She handed the clipboard to the male nurse who was now right beside me. "Do you know the names of your parents or Henry's father? We may be able to pull their records and that will help Henry."

I closed my eyes as a tear fell down my cheek. "I don't know my parents' names." I had never hated being an orphan more than I did in that moment. Not only did they ruin my life but now my son's was in danger and valuable time was being wasted because _they_ had given me up. "Henry's father's name is Neal Cassidy. I'd rather you didn't contact him, but if there's something in his record that could help Henry then by all means try, but I doubt you'll have any luck," she nodded, took the clipboard back and walked over to the desk.

I turned to the other nurse, still hovering close by. "Can I see my son now?" I asked in whisper. I didn't have the energy to shout and demand anymore.

He smiled apologetically, "I'm sorry Miss. You'd best stay here while the doctors are with him." He came closer and sat in the seat beside me. "I know this is probably the last thing you want to hear right now, but there really isn't anything you can do for him in there." I closed my eyes and nodded as another tear escaped. I couldn't be bothered to wipe them away anymore. "Do you have anyone you can call? A friend or a neighbour?" he suggested. "I don't have kids myself but from what I've seen this is one of the worst things a person can go through; it's best not to be alone."

I shook my head. "No, Henry and I are alone."

"Are you sure? It doesn't have to be somebody close -"

"I said there's no-o-" I stopped, eyes widening in realisation. There was _someone _I could call. If I was desperate. And let's face it, I was more than desperate.

I reached for my purse, that I must have grabbed at some point before leaving the apartment, and started digging through it. "You thought of someone?" the nurse asked.

"My..." _my what? What was he exactly?_ "My foster brother. We haven't spoken in a while but I have a number somewhere..." I vaguely registered him leaving as I searched through the spare pacifiers and bibs and all sorts of crap before finding my wallet and pulling that little scrap of paper with the number I'd almost called a hundred times over the past few weeks.

A cordless phone appeared in front of me. I took it, offering the nurse a weak smile and willing my hands not to shake as I typed the number in. The dial tone sounded and it rang once... twice... at the third ring my stomach started to twist...

_ "Hello?"_ his voice finally answered and I let out a sigh of relief.

"August?" My voice cracked and I cleared my throat. "August, it's Emma."

_ "Emma!"_ he sounded... relieved? _"Hey. I didn't think you were going to call. How are you?"_

"I- August I need your help. It's Henry, he's in hospital." There was a pause and I realised he probably didn't remember Henry's name, why would he?

I was about to clarify when I heard movement. _"Which hospital? I'm on my way."_


	5. Chapter 4

**Title: **_**'Chase the sunset across these seas'**_**(A lyric taken from the song **_**Proof is Better Than a Promise **_**by Speaking in Shadows, check them out on youtube!)**

**Summary: What would have happened if Emma had never given Henry up? How would August get her to Storybrooke? And when they did get there, what would Emma make of the sticky fingered, one handed waiter at Granny's?**

**Beta'd by J-J-Sawyer-Phillips (****_wordsmith-storyweaver_**** on tumblr****), you should all check out her stories - she's kind of a genius**

**Pairings: Eventual Captain Swan with platonic, friendship/family Wooden Swan and mentions of other canon pairings.**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own Once Upon A Time, or any of the characters. Alas I cannot pay any claim to the utter sexiness that is Killian Jones/Hook/Colin O'Donoghue :(**

**Enjoy!**

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_**Thanks for the follows and reviews guy! Keep 'em coming.**_

* * *

I knew something must have been wrong for Emma not to have kept to her schedule all day but I never thought that something could have been wrong with the baby! Well, at least not to the extent of being in hospital. The second I heard her voice I was ecstatic that she'd called, despite something clearly being wrong, but I instantly felt guilty when I heard 'Henry' and 'hospital' in the same sentence. Despite New York traffic, I got to the hospital in record time - an upside to a bike - and dashed to the front desk.

"Hey, I'm looking for Emma Swa-Henry Swan," the woman raised a sceptical eyebrow at me. "The patient is Henry Swan, his mom is Emma. Where are they? Is he alright?"

The receptionist started tapping on the keyboard. "Are you family?"

"Well, no, not technically but-"

"I can only let family in, Sir. Sorry," she sounded far more bored than she was sorry and it was beyond irritating.

"Look, Emma called me. She asked me to come; just tell me where they are, she'll tell you it's ok. Call somebody to ask her, tell her August is here. She'll say it's ok I swear," I was practically pleading with her. Neal leaving had broken Emma's heart, so Henry was all she had. She must've been falling apart, and I had to help her!

"You looking for Emma Swan?" a man spoke from behind me and I turned to see a guy about my age standing there in scrubs. "You're the foster brother? August, right?" I took a second to realise that Emma must have said that because of the family thing, or maybe because she didn't know what to call me, but I just nodded and introduced myself because this guy could get me past the damn desk. "Henry's been moved to paediatric. Take the elevator to the second floor, Miss Swan's in the waiting room on the left."

"Thank you!" I took off in the direction he'd indicated, thinking how this was my chance to finally make good on my promise. If only it didn't have to come through that poor kid suffering.

When I finally found Emma there was a doctor sat with her and she looked like she was barely holding it together. As I got closer I could hear what the Doc was saying "-afraid it's as we feared, Henry has bacterial meningitis."

I froze. "Shit." Both women looked up at me. "You can treat him right?"

"Who are-"

"He's my foster bother," Emma replied, an emotionless tone that was honestly far worse than the raw sob I'd heard on the phone. I sat down and put my arm around her, trying not to cringe at how thin and bony she was.

"Yes," The doctor continued, "we've caught it early so there's an antibiotic we can use to treat him. We'll put him on a drip and give him a sedative to ease the pain and help him sleep through the treatment. After that we'll want to keep him in for a few days. We just need you to sign the forms to allow us to treat him." Emma nodded and reached for the pen without question. "Wait, before you sign there's something I have to make you aware of. As with any drug or treatment there are possible side effects. In young children, particularly as small as Henry, there's a chance the treatment will cause Henry to develop hearing loss. In some cases to the extent of being completely deaf. Before you sign you have to consider..."

Emma had already signed and was handing the forms back. "I'd rather my son be alive and well with no hearing than have to bury him. Treat him; stop wasting time asking stupid questions." I squeezed Emma's shoulder gently in reassurance.

The doctor nodded and stood. "Once the drip is in place you can go in to see him. Both of you. But he'll be asleep for several hours."

"Thank you," I told her and turned back to Emma as she left. "Hey," I spoke softly and moved to crouch in front of the broken girl so she could see me, "he's going to be ok."

She nodded and began to shake with sobs. I didn't have much experience with comforting crying women so I just held her and rocked us from side to side, hoping I was helping in some way. A nurse came and led us to the room where a sleeping Henry lay; he would have looked perfectly peaceful had he not been wired up to monitors with a tube being fed into his arm. As soon as Emma saw him, looking so small and fragile, she broke down again. Her legs gave out, and I had to catch her before she hit the floor, hoping it was simply from exhaustion and her emotional state and not her obvious malnutrition.

.

.

.

.

We had been in that room for at least three hours. I had dragged a chair right up to Henry's bed and was stroking his hair back, watching his face for when he opened his big eyes and taking comfort in the steady beeping of the heart monitor. August was on the other chair, next to me, rolling a bottle of Gatorade that he'd been trying to get me to drink for most of the time we'd been there between his palms. I felt his eyes on me sometimes; he was alternating between watching me, then Henry and then staring into space.

"Hours," I spoke finally. My voice was rough from lack of use and all the crying. "He was crying for hours before I realised. How could I have not noticed sooner?"

"Emma, don't do that. You heard the doctor; she said we caught it early. _You_ caught it early and you got him here. Emma, look at me." I reluctantly tore my eyes away from my baby boy and did so. "You did everything you could. You got him here in plenty of time and he is going to be just fine." I saw the absolute conviction in his eyes and wondered how someone who had only just met us could have such faith in us.

I nodded with a weak smile, reached over to take the bottle from him and took a sip. It was slightly warm from being handled for the past couple of hours but still did wonders for my sore throat. August smiled and seemed to relax a little bit. It was only then that I realised that I was only in a tank top and sweat pants which clearly showed how underweight I was. I studied him for a moment and realised that he was just as concerned for me as he was for Henry.

"You can go you know." I whispered, but despite him being practically a stranger and us crossing paths was the freakiest coincidence I had ever imagined, I didn't want him to go. This stranger had been there for me when I truly needed someone to be and having him just sitting there next to me made me feel like I didn't have to face the world alone.

"What?" he asked, seemingly taken aback.

"It's the middle of the night. You must be exhausted, you don't have to wait here with me," I assured him again.

"I told you," he started slowly, not taking his eyes off mine, "that I wanted to be there for you. So I'm going to sit here, being here for you, for as long as you need me to."

I saw nothing but honesty in his gaze. "Why?" I asked, old defences coming back up. "Why do you care? And why stick around now when you're only going to leave again sooner or later?"

"Because I never should have left you the first time," he answered sounding guilty, "and I'm not going to make the same mistake again." Then he grinned, only a little bit forced, "Sorry princess, but you and Henry are going to have to get used to me being around."

The scary thing was that he meant every word. I didn't want to believe him; I'd believed Neal and look where that got me, but there was something about the mix of sincerity, guilt and determination in his eyes that meant I couldn't help it. I believed this guy was going to stick around. Worse, I wanted him to.


	6. Chapter 5

_**So sorry this is a little late. Family gets in the way of fanfiction sometimes :/**_

_**Thanks to Conan in love and Daydreamr4ever who reviewed, and for all the followers.**_

_**And to the guest reviewer from a few chapters ago: Yes Emma still named him H\enry, mainly for easy, if I had come up with another name it would have been confusing enough, even more so considering... well, you'll just have to wait for chapter 7 to find out...**_

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**Title: **_**'Chase the sunset across these seas'**_**(A lyric taken from the song **_**Proof is Better Than a Promise **_**by Speaking in Shadows, check them out on youtube!)**

**Summary: What would have happened if Emma had never given Henry up? How would August get her to Storybrooke? And when they did get there, what would Emma make of the sticky fingered, one handed waiter at Granny's?**

**Beta'd by J-J-Sawyer-Phillips (****_wordsmith-storyweaver_**** on tumblr****), you should all check out her stories - she's kind of a genius**

**Pairings: Eventual Captain Swan with platonic, friendship/family Wooden Swan and mentions of other canon pairings.**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own Once Upon A Time, or any of the characters. Alas I cannot pay any claim to the utter sexiness that is Killian Jones/Hook/Colin O'Donoghue :(**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Emma had long since fallen asleep when the doctor came to tell us that Henry was responding well to the treatment.

"He sure is a little fighter. We expect him to make a full recovery," she smiled.

"Thank you," I answered softly. "Emma will be glad to hear that. It'll be a huge weight off."

"I'm sure it will. I know you're worried about your nephew right now, but I have to ask, have you contacted your insurance company?" I frowned in confusion-didn't the hospital usually handle that? "Miss Swan didn't put the details of her and Henry's health insurance," the doctor explained.

I closed my eyes as I realised, Emma didn't have a job; from what I could tell she was barely making her rent and she certainly didn't have the money to eat properly. So she couldn't afford insurance or the hospital bill. "She's, erm, Emma's between jobs right now; she doesn't have insurance." I hesitated a moment before pulling my wallet out. I was about a hundred and ten percent sure Emma would not be happy about this but I knew she couldn't handle the bill on her own. "Here, put it on here," I handed over my credit card, "charge whatever care Henry needs to me. I'll have to call my insurance company to add them to my coverage."

"Ok, thank you Mr. Booth. I'll be right back with your card."

As she left my eyes wandered back to the baby and I was surprised to see his eyes open. He was blinking up at me, not making a sound, and I was startled by how much he looked like Emma had. Sure he was a lot bigger than she had been when I left, but they had the same round face and tiny nose that looked lost below their big eyes. The eyes were the most obvious feature he'd inherited, bright green with a curious glint that Emma had lost over the course of her childhood and replaced with her distrusting glare. I tilted my head, trying to remember if Emma's eyes were from Snow White or the Prince - it was so long ago that I could barely remember their faces. Henry pulled me out of my thoughts when he reached out, trying to tug on his drip.

"Hey little man," I spoke softly, catching Henry's hand, "you don't wanna do that, trust me, I yanked one of those things out once and it hurt like hell after." He just blinked at me again for a moment before reaching up and scratching at the stubble on my jaw. "What? You don't like the beard?" he gurgled and smiled, that infectious baby kind of smile that you couldn't help but return. "Oh you do like it?" another gurgle. "Tell you what, next time I see you I'll shave and then you can tell me which you prefer. Sound like a plan?" Henry just sat up and continued to make quiet little noises until the IV caught his attention again.

"Hey, hey," I tsked and picked the little guy up. "You don't wanna touch that buddy, ok? I'd hate for you to prove one of my foster dad's right. If any of the kids ever got hurt he just used to shrug and say 'You only learn when it hurts'. The thing is, he was a bit of an ass so how about, we prove him wrong, and you show me that smart kids like you can learn _before_ it hurts. Yeah?" I settled back in my chair with Henry on my lap and watched him take in the room, occasionally having to pull his hands away from the tubes and wires he was still attached to.

"Mmmumm-mummm," he suddenly exclaimed, leaning over my arm to try and get to Emma.

"Yeah Henry," I answered, hoping that that wasn't the first his first word, I would really hate to have taken that milestone from Emma, "Mom's here, but she's really tired right now so we have to be quiet." Henry looked back at me like he was taking in everything I said, even though I knew he probably didn't understand a word. "What d'you say that you and me just hang out for a bit and let Mommy get some sleep, huh? She's been really worried so she needs it."

Over the next hour or so Emma slept while Henry sat on my lap, quietly babbling as I talked to him about whatever came to mind. I found that I was honestly enjoying just spending time with the kid and realised that Henry wasn't going to be just a complication I had to deal with to get Emma to Storybrooke; if all went well then I'd be spending a lot of time with this kid and I was actually quite looking forward to that. Things got a little rougher though when Henry started getting bored with our conversation. He'd mostly given up on tugging at his IV, but there's only so much entertainment a one-year-old could find on a guy's lap (some of which was quite painful for said guy when Henry decided to show me that he could stand up; if this relationship was going to work he'd have to learn where not to put his feet) and he started to get louder.

"Hey, Henry shhh," I stood up and tried rocking him but I didn't want to risk jostling him too much. "Don't suppose your Mom keeps any of your toys in her purse does she?" His only answer was a frustrated squeal; I didn't have much experience with babies but I was fairly sure that they were usually followed by crying. "Hey, keep it down little man, we don't want to wake Mommy up. Do you think she'd kill me if I went through the purse to see?"

"I thought men were terrified of going in a woman's purse?" a sleepy voice murmured from the other chair.

.

.

.

.

I woke up with a really uncomfortable pain in my neck and slowly blinked against the fluorescent light, trying to remember where I was.

"Oh no you don't," I heard a quiet voice off to my right, "you're not standing up on me again." My vision cleared just as I heard Henry's babbling get louder and I realised that August still sat next to me, playing with my son, who was looking much better than when I'd brought him in. "Hey, Henry shhh," he said as he stood up, rocking Henry just slightly, "don't suppose your Mom keeps any of your toys in her purse does she?" Henry squealed and I winced at the sudden pitch; I thought I'd gotten him out of the squealing stage already. "Hey, keep it down little man, we don't want to wake Mommy up." He was worried about waking me up? I couldn't believe that this guy who barely knew me was looking after my sick baby so that I could get some sleep. People just weren't that... _nice_. "Do you think she'd kill me if I went through the purse to see?"

I smiled at that and figured it was time I let them know I was awake. "I thought men were terrified of going in a woman's purse?"

August turned and smiled at me. "Hey, sorry I tried to keep him quiet. You looked like you could use the rest. How are you feeling?"

"Mmmuummmmummummm!" Henry shouted brightly, stretching out his arms to me as August brought him over and settled him in my arms.

"Hi baby," I smiled, ridiculously overjoyed just to see him smiling again, "you feeling better?" Henry gurgled and started his favourite activity - tugging at my hair. I was so glad that he was back to his normal self that I didn't even stop him. "How long has he been awake?" I asked August.

"About an hour? A little more I think. He's been fine the whole time. He doesn't seem to be in pain or anything... at least I don't think so." He scratched the back of his neck, suddenly looking a bit unsure of himself. "I, um, don't have much experience with kids."

I raised an eyebrow. "Really? I mean, you're a natural with him. Surely must have spent some time with children?"

"Not really. There was a five year old with me in the last home I was in, but I was only there for a few months before I turned sixteen and decided I'd do better on my own. I've not really seen any kids since. I think I did ok with this little guy though, right?" Again he wasn't lying and seemed to be looking for my approval, which was one of the most surreal situations I'd ever been in - people never cared what I thought of them.

"Yeah, like I said, a natural." I smiled and finally detangled Henry's fingers from my hair. "Look... I just want to say thank you. For watching him and waiting for me. Hey for coming down here at all. You didn't have to do any of that and I... I'm sorry, I'm just not used to having anyone to help me out, with anything. So I'm not good at the whole gratitude thing."

August chuckled and sat himself on the edge of the hospital bed. "Well, I'll give you a hand then. It's actually really easy, just repeat after me: thank you," he smirked.

I couldn't help but laugh. "Thank you, August."

"You're welcome. See, that wasn't so hard now, was it?"


	7. Chapter 6

_**Hey guys, a little late again I know:/ sorry.**_

_**Just a heads up, I've caught up to myself in terms of posting and my beta hasn't sent chapter 7 back to me yet. Hopefully I'll have it by Monday but if I don't post it on time please be patient. As I know you will :)**_

_**Thanks to fox24 and OneDayGreatness for the reviews**_

_**So, from here on out we're following the show's time line. I'm gonna stick as close to cannon as is possible to do so while telling the story I want to write. If you'd like to discuss the divergences from the show feel free to review or PM me.**_

* * *

**Title: **_**'Chase the sunset across these seas'**_**(A lyric taken from the song **_**Proof is Better Than a Promise **_**by Speaking in Shadows, check them out on youtube!)**

**Summary: What would have happened if Emma had never given Henry up? How would August get her to Storybrooke? And when they did get there, what would Emma make of the sticky fingered, one handed waiter at Granny's?**

**Beta'd by J-J-Sawyer-Phillips (****_wordsmith-storyweaver_**** on tumblr****), you should all check out her stories - she's kind of a genius**

**Pairings: Eventual Captain Swan with platonic, friendship/family Wooden Swan and mentions of other canon pairings.**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own Once Upon A Time, or any of the characters. Alas I cannot pay any claim to the utter sexiness that is Killian Jones/Hook/Colin O'Donoghue :(**

**Enjoy!**

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_**9 Years Later…**_

"So… um, tell me something about yourself Emma," my latest perp asked.

"Oh, well today's my birthday," I smiled sweetly. The cocky guys like this really made it too easy.

"And you're spending it with me? What about your friends?"

"I'm kind of a loner," I shrugged, not really needing to lie when the truth fits the whole internet dating scene just as well.

"And you don't like your family?"

"I don't have a whole lot of family. Just my foster brother and he travels a lot so…" I trailed off, shrugging once more and not showing my annoyance at the pity in his eyes. "You ready to run yet?"

"Not a chance," he flashed me a smile that was all charm and confidence. The fact that I didn't roll my eyes was really a testament to how good I'd become at my job over the years. "You Emma are by far, the sexiest friendless orphan I have ever met." I laughed along with him, pretending to be charmed and feeding the jerk's ego.

"Okay, your turn. No, wait let me guess!" I smiled coyly, bracing myself for the satisfaction that always comes when jerks like this Ryan guy realise that they're not getting lucky, but actually heading straight for a cell. "You are handsome, charming…"

"Go on," he smirked, could he be more full of himself?

"The kind of guy who- and now stop me if I get this wrong –" with that I dropped my flirty persona- "embezzled from your employer, got arrested and skipped town before they were able to throw your ass in jail."

Mr. Charming's next smile was far less cocky and much more panicked "What?"

"And the worst part of all of this is your wife. Your wife loves you so much that she bailed you out and how do you repay that loyalty? You're on a date."

_Yeah, that's right buddy, you should look guilty_ I thought as he looked away.

"Who are you?"

"The chick who put up the rest of the money," I replied with my best fuck-you smile.

"You're a bail-bondsman." Oh would you look at that, he's finally caught up.

"Bail-bondsperson." And then wine was soaking my nice pink dress as the asshole flipped the table and ran. "Really?" _Why did they always run, _I thought as I started following the guy outside, weaving through traffic with far less urgency than he was. _I mean if I was gonna let them just run away then I wouldn't let them know who I was before putting the cuffs on._ I caught up just as the perp realised I'd clamped his car.

"Look you don't have to do this," he tried to reason, "I can pay you, I've got money." I didn't even need my superpower to tell that he was lying through his teeth.

"No you don't! And if you did you should give it you your wife to take care of your family," I told him with a heavy amount of judgement.

"What the hell do you know about family huh?" he spat out.

I frowned and dragged him out of the car just a little rougher than strictly necessary. "That was just harsh." I growled as I dragged him over to my own car and slammed my hand cuffs onto his wrists. "Asshole," I muttered as I pushed him into the back and set off towards the police station.

.

.

.

.

"Henry!" I heard from the bathroom of Emma's apartment, signalling the arrival of my wayward sister. "What are you still doing up? You should have been in bed hours ago! Where's Mrs. Benson?"

"She went home," Henry murmured, even before I entered the room I could tell that his eyes were still glued to the TV screen, rather than looking at his mother.

"What!"

I finally came into view and caught Emma's attention, "I told her I'd take over. There was no point keeping her from her evening as I'm here right?"

"August? What? When did you get here?" she asked smiling as she came over to give me a hug.

"Didn't think I'd miss your birthday did you?" I chuckled as I pulled back to look her up and down, taking in the large wine stain on her hip. "Wow, if you clean up this nice for work imagine the effort you'd put in if you had an actual date," I teased.

"Mom says she doesn't date because men are useless," Henry perked up, finally tearing his eyes away from the TV and leaning over the back of the couch.

"I hope I'm an exception to that rule," I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well you're clearly a useless babysitter; what, did you actually believe him when he told you his bedtime was midnight?"

"I may not have your superpower, but I'm not stupid Ems. I'm well aware that Henry's bedtime is eight thirty, but I figured it wouldn't do him any harm to stay up to watch you blow your candles out," I reasoned as Emma furrowed her eyebrows.

"Candles? What candles?" I spun her around towards the kitchen, where Henry had stealthily appeared to get the small chocolate cake out of the refrigerator and was holding out a box of matches.

"Happy birthday Ems," I kissed the side of her head.

"Make a wish!" Henry beamed "Hey can you wish for an X-box? Because that would be cool."

"Why don't we save that for_ your_ birthday buddy?" I smiled and the kid pouted good-naturedly.

Emma leaned down and blew out the candles with a small smile as Henry clapped and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Ok kid, go get ready for bed. It's a school night," she kissed the top of his head and nudged him in the direction of his bedroom. She'd grown into a great mom since we met and back then I would never have guessed how proud I'd be of her by the time this day came.

"Night Uncle August, thanks for letting me stay up" Henry gave me a hug and flashed his signature, impish grin up at me before heading to his room.

"Good night little man," I smiled after him. "So…" I started, scratching the back of my neck. This was the hard part, convincing Emma to come with me to Storybrooke. "I'm gonna appeal to your spontaneous side, if you'll give me the chance."

Emma immediately looked suspicious, "I have a spontaneous side?"

"Oh, come on Emma, everyone one has a spontaneous side. Some people –namely you – just take a little more coaxing than others," I grinned.

With a raised eyebrow, Emma leaned against the counter top and crossed her arms across her chest. "I'm listening… no promises though."

"Well, that's a good start. I've um, been thinking about settling down. At least for a while," I started, careful not to tell a direct lie, else Emma would shut me right down.

"You? Settle down?" she asked in disbelief (I suppose I couldn't blame her for that). "Did you get someone pregnant?"

"What? No! Nothing like that!" Did she really think I slept around that much? "No I just… I'm thirty-five years old Emma. I can't live out of a suitcase my entire life, y'know?"

"I guess but I thought you loved all the traveling? And what does this have to do with me being spontaneous?" Emma asked in confusion.

"Well… there's this town in Maine, it's a really nice place and I have a job lined up." Not technically true, but there are two places in town that I think would hire me, at least once Emma gets there and sets time moving again. "And you never know, I might love small town life too, but I'm fairly sure that I won't if I'm there on my own."

Realisation dawned on Emma's face and her jaw dropped. "You want us to move? To Maine!" she explained incredulously. "You're not serious right?

"Emma just think about it! Storybrooke is a great little town, it's right on the coast, it's beautiful and quiet. Great for kids," I tried appealing to her motherly instincts. "It's a lot safer than a big city like Boston and it has all sorts of things that would be great for Henry: sailing, horse riding… And he'd love living so close to the beach…"

"Wow!" an excited voice startled us both as Henry barrelled out of his room and stopped between us, bouncing on his heels in excitement. "Can we Mom? Please? It'll be an adventure! Just like Uncle August always talks about his adventures, only we could go too! Please, please, please!" the kid begged with his best puppy dog eyes (which I promptly mimicked, couldn't hurt right?)

Emma looked panicked, like she was backed into a corner and didn't know what to do. "Henry… Guys I don't know… I mean our life if here. And what about Henry's school? I can't just take him out!"

"Storybrooke has a great school," I argued. "Henry could make loads of new friends and the school bus picks up from anywhere in town." I could see that she was just on the edge of agreeing. She just needed a little push but I knew from experience that too much would back track her right back to refusal. "Look Emma, I think this would be really great for us. We could really be a family, but I know it's a big decision. So I'm going up there tonight; how about you guys come with me? We'll stay for a week and see how it goes, and if you don't like the place you can come back here. I'll even find a place in Boston instead if you want. But just… For once Emma, be open minded and give it a try. Have I ever steered you wrong?"

She bit her lip for a moment, still looking unsure, before finally closing her eyes and sighing in defeat.

"Yes!" Henry exclaimed, jumping up and down as he hugged Emma tightly before jumping up to give me a high five. "Thank you! Thank you! Should I go pack?" he asked his mom, excitedly.

"Yeah, I guess so," he grinned and ran back to his room. "Only enough for a week Henry! Don't expect this to be permanent."

"Whatever you say," he called back.

I couldn't hold back my chuckle as I rested my hands on Emma's shoulders until she met my eyes. "I promise you won't regret this, Emma."

"I'd better not," she sighed. "So, Storybrooke, huh? You sure it's a real place, with a name like that?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," I laughed.


	8. Chapter 7

**Hi people.**

**I hope you like this chapter, CSers, don't worry, Killian will be appearing soon. :) If anyone has any quetions about divergences from the show, feel free to ask.**

**Now just a little warning, updates may get slow in the next few weeks as I'm going back to Uni and starting my new job as a TA (in the school where kids who've been kicked out of every other school in the city end up... wish me luck!). I'm also trying to stop my sister from screwing her life up because she's following her friend instead of thinking about her future. **

**Don't worry though! I am determined that this story will not end up on hiatus and will continue to be updated on a regular basis. I hope you understand if I chose to miss an update in favour of writing a good chapter, rather than forcing one out.**

**Enjoy and review!**

* * *

**Title: **_**'Chase the sunset across these seas'**_**(A lyric taken from the song **_**Proof is Better Than a Promise **_**by Speaking in Shadows, check them out on youtube!)**

**Summary: What would have happened if Emma had never given Henry up? How would August get her to Storybrooke? And when they did get there, what would Emma make of the sticky fingered, one handed waiter at Granny's?**

**Beta'd by J-J-Sawyer-Phillips (****_wordsmith-storyweaver_**** on tumblr****), you should all check out her stories - she's kind of a genius**

**Pairings: Eventual Captain Swan with platonic, friendship/family Wooden Swan and mentions of other canon pairings.**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own Once Upon A Time, or any of the characters. Alas I cannot pay any claim to the utter sexiness that is Killian Jones/Hook/Colin O'Donoghue :(**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Convincing Emma to come to Storybrooke was surprisingly easy, I thought I'd made a mistake by not coming back until tonight but, thanks to Henry, she'd agreed to try small town life for a week. The hard part was convincing her to stay. I'm sure the Evil Queen will make that more than problematic but if I can just make sure that this week is the best week of Henry's life – without him nearly getting himself killed, Emma was always complaining about me encouraging Henry to get himself into 'dangerous situations' (or as we like to call them, adventures) – then hopefully, that will be enough incentive for us to stay.

I checked that I could still see Emma's headlights in my mirror just as the '_Welcome to Storybrooke'_ sign came into view and I couldn't help but smile when we crossed the town line – we were here, now the final battle could begin.

.

.

.

As much as I hated to admit it, as we drove into Storybrooke (I still couldn't get over that. Who names a town _Storybrooke_?!) I couldn't help but be amazed by the lack of, well everything. No noise, no traffic, no shady people hanging around… it was a nice, quiet town—_the perfect place for kids,_ I begrudgingly thought. August pulled off to the side of the road so I slowed the car down and fought a smile at the sight of Henry bouncing in the passenger seat.

"Mom look!" He pointed with excitement, "They have a clock tower!"

"Don't get excited, kid," I warned with a chuckle as I pulled up behind August's bike. "We're only here for a week."

"If you say so," he said, jumping out the car with a cheeky smile and running over to August. I shook my head at the seemingly unending amount of energy my kid had and followed him out. Before I reached the boys though, movement across the street caught my eye. I squinted my eyes against the brightness of a street light and saw what looked like a kid sitting alone on a bench.

"Hello?" I called, bringing Henry and August out of their excited conversation. Once I crossed the street I could see the kid more clearly and I realised that he couldn't be much older than Henry. "Hey buddy, are you ok?" I asked.

The kid opened his mouth to answer, but hesitated. After a moment I realised that, despite the kid living in a small, seemingly safe town, he still knew a thing or two about stranger danger, so I smiled reassuringly and called Henry over. With his hand in mine I walked over to the bench and crouched in front of the kid, hoping he'd be willing to talk once he saw another kid with me.

"Hey," I smiled. "My name's Emma, and this is Henry." Henry grinned and waved, while the other boy looked between us. "What's your name?"

He bit his lip, in contemplation before answering. "Danny. What are you doing here?"

I frowned at that. "What do you mean?"

"Strangers don't come to Storybrooke," he explained, as if it was the most obvious fact in the world.

"What? Not _ever_?" I teased but Danny was deadly serious, when he answered.

"Never. So why are you here?" He asked once more, suspiciously.

"Well, you see that guy over there?" I turned and pointed to where August was still leaning against his bike but watching us with interest. "Well that's my brother, Henry's Uncle. He's thinking of moving here, so he asked us to come for a visit, just to check the town out." The kid glanced back to August before seeming to accept the answer. "Who are you here with, Danny? Where are your parents?"

Danny looked down and mumbled. "I ran away."

I raised my eyebrows and looked sideways at Henry, who had a puzzled look on his face. "Why?" he asked.

"I hate it at home."

I smiled in sympathy, I knew a thing or two about crappy homes, but I couldn't just leave the kid here. "I know that families suck sometimes Danny, but running isn't the answer. I'm sure your parents are worried about you. I know that if Henry disappeared, I'd be really upset."

"Do you love Henry?" Danny suddenly asked, seeming to gain some confidence with the anger that suddenly sparked in his eyes.

I blinked in shock, it was a strange question for a kid to ask. "Of course I do. He's my son."

"Then that's the difference! My mom doesn't care about me. She doesn't love me, she just says she does so she looks good to the town." He insisted. The worst thing was that I could see the poor kid believed he was unloved.

Henry's mouth fell open in shock but I cut in before he could say anything. "Listen Danny, I know things can be tough sometimes and moms can come across as strict, even a little mean sometimes, but at the end of the day, we really only want what's best for our kids. Henry will tell you, I can be a real hard ass sometimes." Henry nodded, a little too enthusiastic than I thought was strictly necessary. "But it's not because I don't love him, it's because I care about him enough that I'll do what's best for him, even if he doesn't like it or it upsets him for a while." I stood up and held my hand out to the poor kid, "Come on, we'll walk you home. I'm sure your mom's worried about you. It's…" I looked around at the clock tower and continued in confusion, "eight-fifteen?"

"That clock hasn't moved in my entire life," Danny told us as he stood up, grabbing a backpack for the side of the bench.

"Why hasn't anyone fixed it?" Henry wondered out loud.

"I don't know," Danny shrugged. "Nothing ever changes around here. It's just the same people, doing the same thing every day. I don't know why your uncle wants to move here. Storybrooke's a boring place."

"Huh." Henry frowned.

"Anyway. It's late, I'm sure your parents are worried so how about we give you a ride home, yeah?" I suggested. After a moment of hesitation, Danny nodded, took my hand and followed us back to the car.

"Hey there," August smiled, not moving from his perch on his bike, probably not wanting to scare the kid or something. "See Henry, I told you you'd make friends here." I shot him a look – that comment sounded far too much like 'I told you so' – which he returned with an innocent grin. "What's your name buddy?"

"This is Danny," Henry answered for him. "He ran away so we're giving him a ride home. Do you wanna come with us Uncle August?"

"Sure. Hey Danny," August bent down on one knee, "you've probably realised that we're new here, so do you think you could tell us a bit about Storybrooke on the way home? You know, just show us the places we pass?"

"I guess so," Danny shrugged.

"Great," my brother stood with a smile and gestured towards the bug. "Shall we?"

The four of us climbed into the car, August in the passenger seat and the kids in the back, Danny gave me brief directions to his house and spent the rest of the ride chatting to August and Henry about the town.

"This is it," Danny announced grumpily as I pulled up in front of a huge white house with a big yard, enclosed by neatly trimmed hedges.

"Really?" I'm pretty sure my eyebrows disappeared into my hairline in astonishment at the sight of the place.

"_This_ is your house?" Henry exclaimed in awe.

"Yeah, um, my mom's the mayor so, we've got money," Danny shrugged.

Out of the corned of my eye I saw August shift uncomfortably. I shot him a questioning look but he just shook his head and got out the car, letting the kids out of the back.

"You guys stay here," I decided once we were all on the street. "I'll take Danny in and then we can find a place to stay."

"The only inn in town is Granny's." Danny said, "It's behind the Granny's Diner; you have to go around the block."

"Well, ok. I'll get you home and then we'll go find Granny's. You like the fairy tale thing round here don't you?" They kid just looked confused so I shook my head and nudged him towards the gate.

"Do I have to go back?" he whined.

"Unless you've got another parent around here then yes," I stayed a step behind him, just in case the kid made a run for it.

"I don't have a dad," he mumbled.

"Yeah, well. Be grateful, kid. Some people don't even have a mom."

"Daniel?" A voice called before I could answer. I turned to see a middle-aged woman flying down the front steps and crushing Danny in a hug. _Doesn't care, huh?_ I couldn't help but think. "Danny where have you been?"

Danny shoved her off him and yelled, "Away from you!" and ran in to the house with tears in his eyes, pushing past the figure that had appeared in the door way.

"I'll umm, check on the boy," the figure said in an accented voice.

"Who are you?" The woman –mayor, I guessed—asked, trying to hide the hurt, shell-shocked expression with a mask of calm.

"Oh erm, I'm Emma. We, my family and I, just got to town. I saw Danny sitting on his own and offered him a ride," I explained awkwardly.

"Do you make a habit of picking up random children?" the woman snapped.

Shocked at the harshness of the accusation, I snapped back. "Look, I know this must have been a really hard night for you but I don't appreciate your implication. I'll tell you what I'm not _in the habit of_, leaving kids sitting in the street on their own in the middle of the night. If my son was ever in that situation I'd like to think someone would help him, so I suggest that you show a little more gratitude. If you don't like that I gave your kid a ride home then why don't you teach him not to take rides from strangers. I would have happily found a cop instead!"

"Whoa!" August's hand appeared on my shoulder, pulling me behind him. "Calm down Emma. I'm sure Madam Mayor was just worried about the kid."

"I'm worried about the type of people that have somehow wandered in to _my_ town!" The woman practically snarled.

_Whoa, possessive much?_ "Look lady-" I started but was cut off by the guy from the doorway

"So, other than being a tired little boy, Danny is fine. No harm done." As he got closer I couldn't help but notice that the accent wasn't the only thing this guy had going for him, but quickly shook that train of thought away.

"Thank you sheriff," the Mayor replied, her voice much softer then when she was addressing me.

Seeming to sense the tension the guy – sheriff – stepped around the Mayor so he was slightly in front of me and August. "Regina, why don't you go and tuck him in? I'll take care of our guests." With a final venomous glance, the mayor turned and headed back into her house. The sheriff watched her shut the door and then turned to us. "I'm sorry about Regina, she's had a stressful night, what with Danny running off and all."

"Of course," August answered, "no harm done."

I scoffed. "Speak for yourself," I muttered. August nudged me but the sheriff just smiled.

"Anyway, thanks for bringing Danny back, I'm just glad to see he's ok. The name's Graham, by the way." He held his hand out and August shook it.

"August."

"Emma," I smiled tightly. "Anyway we should-"

"Mom?" a voice came from behind us.

"Henry get back in the car. We'll be right there," I called over my shoulder. "Any way," I turned back to Sheriff Graham, "as _fun_ as this has been, we have to find a place to stay so… Goodnight." I turned to head back down the path, tugging on August's elbow so he'd follow.

"Actually," the sheriff caught up, stopping in front of us. "Granny's B&B is on my way back to the station. It's a lovely place. You guys could follow me there if you like?"

"Sure," I shrugged, "that's better than driving around the town blind, I guess." I walked back to the bug, with both men following. "Henry," I chastised half-heartedly when I saw him sitting on the hood, "I told you to get back in the car."


	9. Chapter 8

_**WOW! You guys, I have had so many new followers just since the preview I posted. Thank you SO much. I'm glad You're all enjoying this story.**_

_**Now I've just watched 4x02 so... spoilers ahead...**_

_**OMG! I absolutely loved it! I love the David/Anna relationship, love the Captain Charming 'your intentions with my daughter' scene... I pretty much loved everything but my favourite part of the episode were the little CS bits at the end. I just loved the way that they were there, in the background, not making a big deal out of CS but it just being there like it's supposed to be (because it is...) And I loved the way Emma just sort of clung to Killian when she got out of the ice, (I mean before her legs gave out, when she just wanted to hug him).**_

_**Ok gushing over now...**_

* * *

**Title: **_**'Chase the sunset across these seas'**_**(A lyric taken from the song **_**Proof is Better Than a Promise **_**by Speaking in Shadows, check them out on youtube!)**

**Summary: What would have happened if Emma had never given Henry up? How would August get her to Storybrooke? And when they did get there, what would Emma make of the sticky fingered, one handed waiter at Granny's?**

**Beta'd by JJ, aka wordsmith-****storyweaver (****_on both ff and tumblr_****), you should all check out her stories - she's kind of a genius**

**Pairings: Eventual Captain Swan with platonic, friendship/family Wooden Swan and mentions of other canon pairings.**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own Once Upon A Time, or any of the characters. Alas I cannot pay any claim to the utter sexiness that is Killian Jones/Hook/Colin O'Donoghue :(**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Hey just one last **IMPORTANT NOTE** from here on out text that is in _**bold italics**_ signifies that the words are not being spoke out loud, they are being signed (ASL). Also if a person is both speaking and signing then it will be stated out side of speach marks when they begin to sign and it's just a given that the conversation is finished with both talking and ASL unless otherwise stated. **  
**

Thanks, on with the story...

* * *

I awoke to blazing sunlight in my eyes, in an unfamiliar room. It took me a moment to get my bearings and remember where I was; August convincing me to come to Maine, finding a kid alone on the street and taking him home only to have a shouting match with his slightly crazy mother. I groaned at the memory. _Why did I let him talk me into this?_

"Henry?" I called when I saw the other bed in our tiny room was empty. As I looked around I saw that his shoes and jacket were also missing but his hearing aid was still on the night stand. Slight panic began to form in my chest before my eyes landed on a scrap of paper on his pillow.

_Hey Mom, _

_You sleep like the dead! Uncle August is taking me for breakfast, he says you should meet us down in the diner when you wake up._

_Love Henry _

I rolled my eyes and headed to the little en suite bathroom to freshen up before heading down to meet the boys.

The diner was reasonably busy with what seemed to be the tail end of the breakfast rush, so it took me a moment to scan the room before I found them, rapidly signing over what appeared to be August's photo album.

"Hey," I waved to get their attention and signed as I spoke, "You forgot this, Henry. You need to make sure you wear it, especially in a strange place."

"Sorry Mom," Henry smiled, taking his hearing aid and slipping it in. He was only partially deaf, and only in his right ear but after his treatment for meningitis we hadn't known how bad his hearing might get and I was already furious at August for paying the medical bill, hence I proudly refused to let him pay for the hearing aid as well. Instead I found a sign language class at a nearby community centre and the three of us went until we were completely fluent. As it turned out, Henry was mostly ok, despite the slight impairment but he could still get confused sometimes so I made sure signing was just as much a part of our life as English.

"So," I started, sliding into the booth next to August, "what incredibly unhealthy breakfast did you convince your Uncle to get you?" I glanced at the sticky, but otherwise empty, plate on my son's side of the table. "Syrup with a side of pancakes?" I raised an eyebrow but didn't really try to hide my amusement. Henry just grinned cheekily and sipped at his cocoa.

"Oh lay off Ems," August nudged me with his shoulder, "You act like I spoil the kid rotten."

"You do," I retorted.

"I'm not complaining," Henry insisted, smile still on his face.

"Yeah, we'll see if you're still thinking that way in a few months when it's time for the dentist," I raised an eyebrow. Henry just shuddered – he hated the dentist. "I'm going to get a coffee," I announced and glanced down to see that both of their cups were still over half full. "Try not to cause too much trouble. Henry, watch your Uncle," I teased earning a laugh from both of them.

Leaning against the counter, I tapped a text message on my phone, informing my boss that I was taking an impromptu vacation for a week and apologising for the lack of notice.

"Killian!" A voice suddenly called from over my shoulder, causing me to almost drop my phone before looking at the source of the noise in annoyance. "If nothing's burning I could use you at the counter." The tall brunette waitress, balancing three full plates of breakfast, smiled at me and continued in a voice slightly more appropriate for indoor use, "I'm sorry, Hon', we're a bit short staffed. Someone will be with you soon." I nodded and offered her a tight smile before sending my message and proceeding to tap my fingernails against the chrome counter.

"What can I get you, love?" At the sound of an English accent, I looked up and, embarrassingly, I had to grit my teeth to stop my jaw from dropping. In front of me was, without a doubt, one of the most gorgeous men I had ever laid eyes on. He was five or six inches taller than me, with a faint scar on his right cheek and dark scruff, that was somewhere between stubble and a full beard, lined his jaw until it met the thick black hair which was peeking out from beneath a blue bandana. It was his eyes, though, that were hands down his most striking feature. Deep blue eyes that suddenly seemed to register both my unfamiliar face and the fact that I'd been silent just a moment too long. "Well hello there," his slightly pink lips tugged into a smirk, as his eyes traced over my torso before locking back on mine. "When did you stumble into our quaint little town?"

I raised my eyebrows and, finally, found my voice, "I've been told that people don't visit this place often, but surely the town isn't so small that an unfamiliar face in a diner is noticeable?"

"Don't sell yourself short lass," the mystery guy leaned forward on his arms so that there was barely inches between us, and I could feel the warmth of his breath against my face - causing goose bumps to appear on my arms. "You are most definitely noticeable," he winked. I actually blushed, which only made his smirk widen as he slowly straightened up and went back to business. "The name's Killian Jones. Poor Ruby is rushed off her feet so I have the pleasure of serving you this fine morning. What can I get you Miss..?"

"I'd love a coffee, thanks," I replied, ignoring his prompt for my name - and quite proud of myself for that as I was still slightly breathless from the feeling of his breath on my lips a matter of seconds ago – and the way his accent almost caressed the word 'pleasure'. Jones didn't seem deterred though. He just grinned a toothy grin that actually made my knees a little weak before turning to get a mug and the coffee pot. With those azure eyes no longer fixed on mine, I steadied my breathing and willed my body not to get over excited. He was just a guy. A _ridiculously _hot guy, with a smirk that promised things that I really shouldn't have been imagining in the middle of a very public diner with my son only a few feet away... But still, just a cocky guy with far too much charm and who clearly knew his assets. No, this guy was trouble with a capital T.

I turned back to the table Henry and August were sat at in search of a distraction, only to find August's eyes were already on me. There was a frown creasing his brow and I was about to ask what was wrong when I saw his gaze shift over my shoulder. I rolled my eyes at his reaction, realizing that big brother mode had been activated merely by me talking to a guy.

_**You don't get to poke fun at my lack of personal life and then go into over protective brother mode at the sight of me ordering coffee, the very next morning,**_ I signed and turned back to the counter without giving him chance to answer.

"Your coffee, milady," Jones grinned.

"How much?" I reached for the few loose bills in my back pocket.

"On the house darling," he smirked, leaning forward once more, "on the condition that you tell me your name."

I smiled and tilted my head, acting like I was eating out of the palm of his hand – as I'm sure he was accustomed too – and slapped a five dollar bill on the counter. "Keep the change." With that I turned around to walk away, and almost collided with the sheriff.

"My apologies, Miss Swan." I smiled at him briefly as he stepped around me and focused on the man behind the counter. "Just a coffee to go today please, Killian. Thanks."

"Hang on a minute there Graham. Are you saying that you knew that this beautiful creature had appeared in our lives and you failed to tell me?" Killian asked with mock hurt, causing me to halt and look back at him in disbelief.

"Killian, I am quite sure that my job where you're concerned is to keep you out of trouble, not pass on town gossip. Now," Graham continued, slightly exasperated, "I don't mean to be rude but if you could hurry up so I could get back to my current priority of locating a missing little boy."

"The Mayor's kid again?" I asked with a frown.

"Yes," the sheriff turned back to me. "Thanks again for helping him out last night. The lad's been having a tough go of it lately."

"My pleasure. If you need a hand looking for him, I'd be happy to help," I offered, "Finding people is kinda what I do."


	10. Chapter 9

**Wow guys! 33 new followers since the last chapter! I am blown away, seriously, thank you so much! (Though if each of you guys could review I'd be immensely happy... just an idea...)**

**Thanks to _Boudicca1 _and_ EruditeRavenclawCompani_**_**on **_**for reviewing too. **

**So, what'd you guys think of this week's episode? The last scene? I for one have been waiting for Killian to go in for a kiss and I'm so not dissappointed. So, now that Emma's admitted to what's been holding her back do you think she'll stop pulling away? How do you think the snow queen knows Emma? What do you think of Will being back in Storybrooke? **

**I have my own thoughts/ideas of course but I'd love to hear yours xD**

* * *

_**Title: ****'Chase the sunset across these seas'****(A lyric taken from the song ****Proof is Better Than a Promise ****by Speaking in Shadows, check them out on youtube!)**_

_**Summary: What would have happened if Emma had never given Henry up? How would August get her to Storybrooke? And when they did get there, what would Emma make of the sticky fingered, one handed waiter at Granny's?**_

_**Beta'd by JJ, aka wordsmith-****storyweaver (****on both ff and tumblr****), you should all check out her stories - she's kind of a genius**_

_**Pairings: Eventual Captain Swan with platonic, friendship/family Wooden Swan and mentions of other canon pairings.**_

_**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own Once Upon A Time, or any of the characters. Alas I cannot pay any claim to the utter sexiness that is Killian Jones/Hook/Colin O'Donoghue :(**_

_**Enjoy!**_

* * *

**Remember, _bold italics_ are just signing. If a character is signing and speaking then the narrative will tell you when they start signing.**

* * *

Henry laughed, pulling my focus away from trying to figure out who the guy Emma was talking to at the counter was. Certainly not one of Snow White's most trusted allies, but that didn't necessarily make him a villain… He was probably just someone I'd never met.

"What?" I asked the kid.

"She's right you know. You did tease her about never having a real date last night. Besides, if she does like that guy surely that'd make it easier to convince her that we should stay here," he reasoned.

"You're a smart kid Henry," I smiled. After all these years he still surprised me, "but as much as I want for us all to stay here, I don't want it to be because of some sleazy guy."

"How do you know he's sleazy? You don't know him. Is this how you get every time Mom meets a guy? No wonder she doesn't date," the kid laughed, and I couldn't help but smile.

"That's not why she doesn't date, buddy," as soon as the words were out of my mouth, I realised I shouldn't have even hinted to that topic.

_**Is it because of my dad?**_ I swallowed thickly with guilt, both because of my role in the pain Neal caused Emma and because I knew that Henry only resorted to just signing when he was upset or nervous (or scheming, but clearly that wasn't the case here).

"Has your Mom ever talked about him?" I asked. I'd always liked it that Henry felt he could come to me with things, but this… this wasn't my conversation to have.

_**I asked about him once, it was a long time ago. When we still lived in NY. She just said that she lost contact with him before she found out she was pregnant. Did you know him?**_

"I…" I hesitated, Henry didn't seem to have inherited Emma's super power, but I still didn't want to lie to the kid. "I reconnected with your mom when you were one Henry. Just before you got sick. I can only tell you what your mom told me, but this is really something to ask her about. Not me."

_**It upsets her though.**_

"Talk out loud buddy. It's ok. She's talking to the sheriff," I encouraged. "I know you don't want to upset her and it isn't something that she likes talking about. I also know that your mom would rather you get the story from her than you keep wondering like she has to; I'm pretty sure she'd be pissed if I told you any of the few details I know. It took a long time for her to open up to me, buddy. I don't want to betray that trust, even to you. Do you understand?"

Henry nodded and went back to his cocoa. He was silent for a few minutes but decided to change the subject. "Still, you can't get all protective of mom just for talking to the guy. She was only getting a drink."

"The two of them said an awful lot in very close proximity for just ordering a coffee."

Before Henry could answer Emma slumped into the seat next to me. "I am perfectly capable of handling a guy hitting on me August. You don't have to give him the death glare." Henry laughed again.

"I thought it was us boys that ganged up against your mom," I pouted at the kid, good naturedly. "Traitor."

Emma just rolled her eyes. "Do you to think you can entertain yourselves this morning? Apparently Danny ran off again. I offered to help find him."

"Can't I come with you? I liked Danny," Henry asked, hopefully.

"You stay with your uncle kid. I'm sure you'll get another chance to hang out with him again. Besides, Uncle August was off gallivanting for nearly six months, this time. I'm sure you two have loads to catch up on, still."

"But I'd rather have an adventure with you than just hear about the ones he has without me!"

"Henry," I cut in. "Let your mom go. You don't know where Danny is. If he's in danger the last thing anyone needs is for you to get caught up in it as well. Don't worry, we'll have plenty of adventures here," I smiled.

"A week guys," Emma cut in sternly. "You two seem to be forgetting that we're only staying a week. So get your adventures in quick, without getting your selves killed."

"Geez Mom, why'd you have to take the fun out of it," Henry pouted and neither of us could help laughing.

"You ready?" the accented voice of the sheriff asked from behind us.

Emma nodded and gave me a one armed hug before she got up to kiss Henry's hair. "Be good. I'll be back as soon as we get the kid home."

With a few waves and farewells, I followed Emma and the sheriff out with my eyes, wondering if we could trust him. Sure he seemed like an alright guy but the Evil Queen wouldn't put one of the good guys in a position of power, right?

"You have the big brother look again," Henry pointed out with a small, knowing grin. "You don't think anyone is good enough for her do you?"

"We're not here for your mom to find a boyfriend, little man." I avoided his question. It's not that I didn't want Emma to find someone who would make her happy, because I wanted that for her more than anything. But I'd brought her and Henry to Storybrooke to break the curse. I couldn't let Emma get distracted by guys with accents. "So, what do you want to explore first? The town or the beach?"

"I wanna go up the clock tower!" Henry announced, suddenly buzzing with excitement.

I couldn't help but laugh.

.

.

.

The Mayor made it _very_ clear that she wasn't happy that I was even in town, yet alone in her house, helping to look for her son. I sat in the desk chair, going through the kid's emails and recent files.

"This is a waste of time!" she barked, whether at me or Graham I wasn't sure because I was really trying my best to block her out. "You should be out there, looking for my son instead of sat here, humouring this… well who knows _what _she is. She could be a criminal before all we know!"

"I'm a bail bondsperson actually. You're welcome to run a security check but the bottom line is I find people who are better at hiding than a ten year old boy a lot faster than it takes for your sheriff to single-handedly check everywhere in town. Now, Danny only seems to email one person. A M. M. Blanchard. It looks like a city email address. Do you know who that is?" I looked up at the Mayor. If possible her eyes filled with even more fury. _So I guess that's a yes._

"She's Daniel's teacher. The school lets the students email their homework. You've found nothing, Miss Swan. Have a nice drive back to wherever you came from." With that she held the bedroom door open, clearly expecting me to leave.

"These last few emails don't have attachments though." I opened the links and quickly read through the conversation. "Danny was adopted?" thought out loud more than asked, but his mother exploded.

"How dare you! That is personal information that is quite frankly none of your business! How did you even know that?" she fumed, stepping closer to me in a way that was clearly meant to be intimidating.

"Danny wrote it in his emails. It's about some family tree assignment he hasn't handed in. Read for yourself." I turned the screen towards her and almost felt sorry for her when she swallowed hard reading 'I don't have family'.

When she straightened, without saying anything – there's a first for everything - I pulled out the drive with my recovery unit on it and plugged it in to the computer. After scrolling through his internet history I unplugged my USB drive and shut off the computer.

"He hasn't made any attempt to find his biological parents, at least not online, but I doubt a kid his age would know how to go about finding records any other way. But I know a thing or two about orphans and adopted kids, if he's feeling this way then chances are he has a place he likes to go. It'll be somewhere he feels safe, but nothing to do with you. Somewhere that's _his_, y'know?" I looked between the sheriff and mayor.

"The only places Daniel goes without me are school and to his therapy sessions. His safe place is in this house with his mother." She glared, clearly refusing to believe that the kid could need anything she hadn't given him. "As I said, this was a waste of time. You have found nothing, Miss Swan, so I'd like you to get out of my house, collect your brat and your boyfriend and get the hell out of my town."

I stood from the chair and got in her face, showing I wasn't the least bit intimidated. "You don't have to listen to me, even though you're being stupid and endangering your son by ignoring me." She opened her mouth to argue but I didn't give her chance. "No! I'm talking now! You don't have to let me stay in your house and I couldn't give a crap as to whether you like me or not. But the last I checked, there was no law against visiting Storybrooke. So I'm going to stay in town however long I like, and considering my _brother_ is trying to convince me to move here, that could well be a very long time. So I'd get used to it if I were you." I walked out the door calling a mocking "Madam Mayor," over my shoulder.


End file.
